Charting the internet pop world one blog post at a time.

If you like your tropical house with add Euro flair, then you will particularly enjoy “Moves” by Italy’s Big Fish for Tipsy Recordings. Though the artist is new, the song does a great job of selling itself with its totally engaging melody and slick production. It also has this vibrant vocal by Mike Gomes of American duo Xuitcasecity – not an entirely unexpected place for Mike to show up, as you’ll remember Xuitcasecity’s memorable presence last year on “Runaway” by Spirix. “Moves” is an easy add for club DJ’s who want to encourage their audience to strut their stuff rather than simply watch the DJ at work. Check it out at the link above.

The new chart is definitely shakin’ and stirred – many songs make big leaps while other favourites tumble. Yet there somehow is still room enough for four debuts.

I’m not sure if this has ever happened before on my chart in its 19 year history, but the both new #1… and the fastest rising song on the chart… belong to one performer, who happens to be L.A. indie singer/songwriter Axel Mansoor.

The Top 10

The sweet-voiced pop/R&B singer who tells it like it is climbs to #1 with a song that draws you in from first listen, “Wasted My Love” (up top). And not too far behind at #8 is his follow up, the lovely and resolute “Out Of My Head” (below), the fastest riser on the chart, soaring 21-8 in its second appearance. They are both free downloads for now so pick them up while you have access to them 🙂 Axel is a talent who won’t go unnoticed!

Also making a huge move 15-3 is a number one contender, “Attention” by Charlie Puth, becoming his highest placing song on the chart thus far. That R&B bassline seals the deal!

I still can’t get enough of Alesso’s “Falling”, which is up a notch 5-4.

The song that moves up 11-5 has a wonky kind of charm with its rhythm, matched up with a soulful vocal with a dash of grit, and a chorus that will get stuck in your head and stay there. It’s by Philadelphia duo NiGHTS with “P A R T Y”.

L.A. based producer/remixer Spirix is getting comfortable again in my Top 10, following last year’s #5 “Take Me Apart” and a #1 remix of Brandon Skeie’s “So Bad”. Paired with Floridians Xuitcasecity “Runaway” has a lot of charm and climbs 8-6.

L.A. pervades my Top 10 with Virginian transplant Eddy Faulkner obtaining his first Top Tenner here with “Cruel” moving 12-9. Though his voice is front and centre, I love the rich backdrop of production that surrounds it.

Movin’ On Up

It’s hard to stop listening to a song that’s been out for a while but has a killer vocal and rhythm track. That happens to be “Never Been Better” by young Dutchman Steve Void, which continues to rise, up 14-11.

One of the most downright intriguing songs of the year is “Silent Games” by German producers Lars Beck and Henri Purnell, with vocals from Honolulu native Zekt. Remixer UOAK recently gives it a lush deep house flavour while retaining the song’s mystery. Get it for free at the link below. “Silent Games” rises 20-16.

Martin Garrix and his Dutch bro Brooks move up 24-19 with their hard-to-ignore instrumental “Byte”. And joining it on the chart is “There For You”, with Martin’s other bro, one Troye Sivan, and it bows at #29.

The other two debuts from two weeks ago will be contenders in the coming weeks. I honesty never thought Shawn Mendes would appear on my chart but he’s here with the Bryan Adams-ish “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back” up 27-21, while right behind it is the Saxena house remix of “Darlin'” by Welcome To The Hotel featuring singer Brandon Serafino, climbing 28-22.

The Remaining Three Debuts

Despite Brandyn Burnette and Molly Moore’s own many chart entries, their duo Cosmos & Creature lands on the chart with an original, the total winner “Bad Drug”, at #26. CnC first appeared on the chart as featured in Vicetone’s “Bright Side” about a year ago.

Sweden’s Anton Ewald returns with just his first name but also with a very hot R&B-influenced song (and a flashy, all-Anton video), “L.I.L.Y.” (aka “Like I Love You”) at #27. It’s his first appearance in about two years, and all of his songs that have appeared in this chart have reached the Top 10. “L.I.L.Y.” looks like it could follow that trend 🙂

He’s played Spider-Man on Broadway, and both Dorian Gray and Rocky Horror’s Riff Raff on TV, but before all of that he was a NYC local with his brother in their band Carney. Reeve Carney finally has his debut solo album out called Youth Is Wasted. I got to see his set and meet the man a few weeks back, and “Truth” is a highlight from the set and the album, arriving at #28.

View the full BILLCS Top 30right here, and be sure to click on the photos to hear all of the songs.

Listen to the BILLCS Top 30 Songs on Spotify! Click on this link to take you there, and follow me on Spotify:BILLCS Top 30 Songs

For the first time since March, following “Something Just Like This” by The Chainsmokers and Coldplay, which stayed up top for 4 appearances (8 weeks) as did Brandon Skeie’s “So Bad” last summer, there is a new #1 on the BILLCS Top 30, and a few more contenders bubbling below!

The Top 10

My fellow Torontonians, Loud Luxury and Ryan Shepherd ascend to the top with “Something To Say”, their brilliant deep house rework of Craig David’s “Fill Me In”. It’s the first time since another fellow Torontonian finished out 2016 at #1, that being The Weeknd with Daft Punk and “Starboy”.

Mahalo and Cat Lewis continue to rise in the Top 5 as the rollicking “WTFYWF” arrives at #3.

One of the most unique songs out there in every good sense of that word is Brandyn Burnette’s “Manifest”, and this song from his third EP Feature Films jumps 7-4.

Eyeing the Top 5 and the top of the chart is Alesso’s huge club hit “Falling”, which moves up 10-6.

The sweet soul of L.A.’s Axel Mansoor lands in the Top 10 with “Wasted My Love” climbing 12-9.

L.A.-based producer Spirix gets his second Top 10 hit here with “Runaway”, featuring pop/hip hop duo Xuitcasecity on vocals, to make an addictive blend of EDM, pop, soul and hip hop. It bounds into the Top 10 soaring 17-10.

Movin’ On Up

Harry Styles looks to be the bona fide pop star formerly of One Direction, as “Sign Of The Times” from his new self-titled album winds its way up to the outskirts of the Top 10, rising 15-11.

L.A.-based singer/songwriter Eddy Faulkner is halfway up the chart with his first entry “Cruel”, a slick blend of pop and dance styles with rich production, moving 18-15.

Check out Steve Void’s fun new video for “West L.A.” below, as I’m hardly done yet with his previous single “Never Been Better” (above), which climbs 21-16. The memorable, commanding uncredited vocal is by British singer Grace Tither.

The fastest riser on the chart has one of the quirkiest hooks around which will grow on you big time. With its blend of soulful pop and EDM, Philadelphia duo NiGHTS vault 29-17 with “Party”.

NYC’s Andy Suzuki & The Method have announced upcoming tour dates in (natch) NYC, but also Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and Boston, which is always a great way to feel the energy they bring to their music. “I Need You Now (The More You Leave)” is from their second album The Glass Hour, and rises 24-19.

They co-produced “Break Up Every Night”, a song on The Chainsmokers’ album Memories… Do Not Open. The trio Captain Cuts joins The ‘Smokers on the chart with “Love Like We Used To” (Young Bombs remix), climbing 27-22.

Debuts

25 year old singer/songwriter/producer Charlie Puth is back with a song from his upcoming second album. “Attention” is as infectious as it gets, with a slightly dirty and soulful rhythm to counter Charlie’s knowing vocal. It bows at #23 and becomes Charlie’s 4th entry on the chart, the last being “We Don’t Talk Anymore” (with Selena Gomez), which peaked at #5.

L.A. producer/DJ Bobby Nourmand grabbed a #1 song here earlier in the year with the crazy “D E E P In NY” (featuring great verses rapped by D.O.C. and Goodmorning). He returns with the first bright light of summer for those of us in colder climates called “D U S T”. It’s a mini-epic for a long drive up a sandy beach on a clear night, and bows at #24 – and it’s Bobby’s gift to you as a free download 🙂

New to the chart are Germany’s Lars Beck and Henri Purnell with their deep house production “Silent Games” featuring Hawaiian vocalist Zekt at #26. This mix of EDM, soul and folk styles will catch you immediately and draw you in with Zekt’s classic way of unfolding a story. You can get “Silent Games” as a free download for a limited time.

View the full BILLCS Top 30right here, and be sure to click on the photos to hear all of the songs.

Listen to the BILLCS Top 30 Songs on Spotify! Click on this link to take you there, and follow me on Spotify:BILLCS Top 30 Songs

We have more new music out there in the world to listen to than ever, yet our favourites remain near and dear to us. One of those continues to top the BILLCS Top 30 while new ones bubble underneath.

The Top 10

“Something Just Like This” by The Chainsmokers and Coldplay stays atop for a fourth appearance – that’s eight weeks, while new official pack arrived within the last two weeks. Absolutely no complaints about the selection: R3hab, Alesso, Don Diablo, Like Mike & Dimitri Vegas, Jai Wolf and ARMNHMR. Since Alesso’s latest arrives in the Top 10 this week, check out his remix above.

Any of the Top 5 that are still on the rise have what it takes to be at #1 in two weeks. “Something To Say” (above) by Toronto’s Loud Luxury and Ryan Shepherd advances to #2 with its warm and crowd-pleasing redux of Craig David’s “Fill Me In”. L.A.’s Mahalo collaborates again with singer Cat Lewis for the rollicking “WTFYWF” (below) which moves up to #4, while WLRD and SMLE take “Stranded” (also below) 9-5 thanks to an amazing vocal by Kiddo AI which caps a song that sounds like nothing else out there.

Toronto’s Blajk are resurfacing after a quiet few months – they play Toronto’s NXNE festival in late June. “Lethal”, from their EP Limited, holds at #6.

“Stay” by Anton Zaslavski – I mean Zedd – and Alessia Cara is becoming one of the biggest hits of 2017, and the official video dropped this week. To think in 2012’s video for “Spectrum”, both Zedd and Matthew Koma only had fleeting cameos! It moves up 11-8.

It’s definitely a grower, but some remixes also arrived this week for “I Wonder” by The Him featuring LissA, by Westfunk and Teelena. Check out the latter’s below.

As I mentioned up top, “Falling” by Alesso becomes the Swedish producer’s first Top Tenner here, rising 16-10.

Movin’ On Up

With a new song hot off the presses as well, Axel Mansoor’s “Wasted My Love” is the fastest riser on the chart, soaring 19-12. The sweet voice, the beautiful melody, and the thoughtful lyrics are what will win you over if you haven’t yet heard him. One to watch!! And free to download below.

Although it’s more of a French-appearing moniker, Lulleaux is from The Netherlands and the very catchy – thanks to a trumpet melody that recalls Capital Cities’ “Safe And Sound” – “Sinner”, with vocals by SVM, climbs 18-13.

The Knocks (BRoc and JPatt) are already recording their second album, so think of this EP of Testify as a palate-whetter, with “Worship” featuring MNEK being a focal track, which rises 17-14.

No sooner than “Sign Of The Times” drops and his self-titled album is on the way, but Harry Styles launches a huge tour which will sail into a city near you. “Sign Of The Times” climbs 21-15.

“Runaway” by Spirix featuring Xuitcasecity is no slouch either in its second appearance, with a killer melodic hook, zipping into the Top 20 23-17.

The Netherlands’ Steve Void has a new single coming soon too called “West LA”, and while “Never Been Better” has taken a little while to shift into high gear, it moves up 26-21.

Four Debuts

All of our debuts are by brand new performers 🙂

Bowing at #26 is “Heavy Hearted”, a beautifully sung EDM mid-tempo ballad as recorded by the mysterious producer Murky, featuring Polish singer Anuka to make the song really sparkle. Get it for free at the link above.

Captain Cuts may be new performers but they are hardly new to the music scene. The trio are well-established producers, songwriters, and remixers, witness Walk The Moon’s massive “Shut Up And Dance”, Bebe Rexha’s recent “I Got You”, and Grouplove’s “Tongue Tied” for three! “Love Like We Used To” has all kinds of pop potential as well as for clubs with a variety of remixes, including by Canadians Young Bombs which lands at #27.

Arriving at #29 is Philadelphia duo N I G H T S, whose spicy mix of R&B and EDM has yielded the strutting “Party”, which is also a free download at the above link.

By no means least at #30 is Australia’s Spenda C featuring rapper Cult Sh∅tta and an uncredited female vocal in “Release”. I just love the way this song flows between pop, EDM and hip hop.

View the full BILLCS Top 30right here, and be sure to click on the photos to hear all of the songs.

Listen to the BILLCS Top 30 Songs on Spotify! Click on this link to take you there, and follow me on Spotify:BILLCS Top 30 Songs

And the great new music keeps coming – 5 debuts again for edition #507. And I had a Top 4 songs that I was really torn over what song would be in what position. So…….

The Top 10

The Top 4 stays the same 🙂 but watch for a shake up in two weeks! All but the Top 4 are in upward movement mode, but all are bulleted nonetheless!

“Something Just Like This” by The Chainsmokers and Coldplay stays on top for a third appearance (six weeks), so we’ll see if they anchor the pole position in two weeks. Their debut album Memories…Do Not Open is #1 this week in North America and Top 5 in the UK, all from the same guys who brought us “#Selfie” 3 years ago. And instead of relying on that success, they transformed and have not looked back 🙂

“Mad About You” by Koni featuring Danelle stays at #2. Italian producer Mark Mendy has a bouncy and equally cheerful official remix hot off the presses so check it out below and download it for free 🙂

Mahalo and Cat Lewis get their second consecutive Top 5 song here with “WTFYWF”, which soars 10-5, positioning itself nicely to advance further in two weeks.

Toronto quartet Blajk continue their trek up the chart with the seductive “Lethal” from their EP “Limited”, climbing 9-6. Check out the eye-catching video – Jordan Radics is one singer who does not look like his voice!

Crywolf and his emotion-torn epic “Windswept” ascends to a new peak of #7, from his EP “Skeletons”.

From only his third EP, Brandyn Burnette gets his 10th solo Top Tenner here (which includes three #1’s) with “Manifest” from “Feature Films”, rising 11-8. That doesn’t include his pairing with Molly Moore on “Just A Dream” (#4) nor his Cosmos & Creature featured entry on Vicetone’s “Bright Side” (#7), which would bring the total to 12.

WRLD’s collaboration with SMLE and vocalist Kiddo AI charges 13-9 into the Top 10 with “Stranded”.

Michael Christofi’s dynamic and uplifting remix of Elohim’s “Hallucinating” jumps 12-10, Christofi’s second time in the Top 10 after his original “Don’t Need You” got to #8 in 2016.

Also Movin’ Up

Don’t be too worried about “Stay” by Zedd and Alessia Cara ranking #11 this week. It will be well into the Top 10 in two weeks and by then, as I understand it, there will be remixes available!

Continuing their North American tour are two truly nice guys – Steve and Jeroen – aka Dutch production duo The Him. “I Wonder”, featuring a unique vocal by LissA, climbs 17-13.

The fastest riser on the chart this week is a bit of a change of pace for Swedish producer Alesso – which might be why I like it a whole lot! “Falling” soars 23-16.

With a new song already on deck that is equally charming, L.A.-based singer/songwriter Axel Mansoor moves up 25-19 with “Wasted My Love”, still available as a free download for you too!

And making new friends every week is the infectious “Cruel” by L.A.-based singer/songwriter Eddy Faulkner, which climbs 28-22. Expect to see some remixes sometime very soon!

5 Debuts

‘Twas the week of Harry Styles and with good reason – “Sign Of The Times” is a great song with a fantastic vocal! So it’s hard not to jump aboard the ride – it bows at #21. It’s the first time anyone from One Direction has appeared on this chart, band or solo!

There’s a one-of-a-kind melody that graces “Runaway” by young L.A.-based producer Spirix featuring Florida vocalists Xuitcasecity. The combination of EDM, pop and hip hop flavours helps send it to a #23 debut for the Spinnin’ Premium label. Spirix got to the Top 5 last year twice – once as co-collaborator with LZRD on “Take Me Apart” (#5) and as co-remixer of Brandon Skeie’s #1 “So Bad”.

Another young producer who has seen songs in the Top 10 of this chart over the past year is The Netherlands’ Steve Void. His latest is “Never Been Better” and it arrives at #26, following his collaboration with No Mondays on “Chemistry” (#10) and his remixes of both SNBRN’s “Beat The Sunrise” (#5) and Matoma’s “False Alarm” (#6).

The mysterious ZHU makes his chart debut here with “Nightcrawler” at #27. It’s a creepy, slinky number that will get under your skin much like the debut which brought him a 2014 Grammy nomination, “Faded”, which I would have charted had I not heard it well after-the-fact. One of those ‘couldabeens’ 🙂

The fifth debut comes from two super NYC guys, Andy Suzuki and Kozza, who call themselves Andy Suzuki & The Method. The guys continue to play gigs throughout North America to support their second album The Glass Hour. The 80’s flavoured and soulful “I Need You Now (The More You Leave)” premieres at #29. The band had had two previous chart entries, “Dirty Floors” (#7) and “Keep Me Running”, from their 2013 album “Born Out Of Mischief”.

View the full BILLCS Top 30right here, and be sure to click on the photos to hear all of the songs.

Listen to the BILLCS Top 30 Songs on Spotify! Click on this link to take you there, and follow me on Spotify:BILLCS Top 30 Songs

Listen for me onhttp://www.planetradio.caon Tuesday evenings with my Top 10 of Toronto’s yesteryear, and with my Pick of the Week segment airing throughout the week most days at 2:20 6:20 10:20 AM/PM EST

Young L.A.-based producer/DJ Spirix caught my ears last year big time with his original with LZRD “Take Me Apart” and with his remix (with EDWYNN x TIKAL) on my favourite song of 2016, “So Bad” by Brandon Skeie. He’s since trail-blazed with other remixes of songs by Lost Kings and Vanic, but has now returned with another collaborative original, “Runaway”, for Spinnin’ Premium no less, featuring Tampa pop/hip hop duo Xuitcasecity. “Runaway” has a friendly pop flavour about it that’s thrown into an effortless Spirix dance mix that doesn’t let up, and doesn’t let go of the R&B/Hip Hop vibes that Xuitcasecity brings to the song either. “Runaway” is a pretty straight-forward song that will win you over on first listen and will keep us waiting for more new Spirix tunes 🙂 Get it on iTunes (the free download is no longer available).